A 12-Year-Old Girl With Epilepsy Is Suing Jeff Sessions Over Medical Marijuana

Alexis Bortell talks to local Fox affiliate KDVR about why she has joined a lawsuit against Attorney General Jeff Sessions over medical marijuana.

Screenshot/KDVR

Alexis Bortell’s family moved to Colorado so they could legally get their hands on the cannabis oil that has proven to be the only effective treatment for her epilepsy. But now the 12-year-old girl can’t go back to Texas, where she hopes to attend college someday. “I would like to be able to visit my grandparents without risking being taken to a foster home,” Bortell said in an interview with local Fox affiliate KDVR. So she joined a lawsuit against Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the Department of Justice, and the Drug Enforcement Agency.

In Texas, the sixth-grader’s doctors were recommending brain surgery to treat the seizures that she had been suffering from since she was seven years old. But a pediatrician suggested the family should try medical marijuana first and they haven’t looked back. Thanks to a drop of the liquid THC in the morning and another at night, Bortell has not had a single seizure in two-and-a-half years. “I'd say it`s a lot better than brain surgery,” the 12-year-old said.

Advertisement

The lawsuit, which was filed in July, also includes another minor, a military veteran, and former San Francisco 49ers defensive end Marvin Washington. “This lawsuit stands to benefit tens of millions of Americans who require, but are unable to safely obtain, Cannabis for the treatment of their illnesses, diseases and medical conditions,” notes the lawsuit that was filed in the Southern District of New York.

Daniel Politi has been contributing to Slate since 2004 and wrote the Today’s Papers column from 2006 to 2009. Follow him on Twitter.